Power-controlling lever.



P-ATENTED FEB. 13, 190's; G. W. LORIMER.

POWER CONTROLLING LEVER.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 14, 1902.

ENE

3712x7110? geozge W. gaf -me! GEORGE W'ILLIAMLORIMER, OF PIQUA, OHIO.

POWER-CONTROLLING LEVER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 13, 1906.

Application filed June 14, 1902. Serial No. 111,625.

To all whom it may concern."

Be it known that I, GEORGE WILLIAM LoRI- MER, a citizen of the BritishEmpire, and a resident of Piqua, in the county of Miami and State ofOhio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in PowerControlling Levers, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to power-controlling levers designed for manualoperation and operatively connected with the throttle-valve of asteam-engine or with other means whereby the power of a steamer othermotor may be controlled. In devices of this character it is desirableordinarily to provide some means whereby the lever may be locked or heldfixed in any one of its different adjusted positions, and for thispurpose it has heretofore been proposed to employ a locking dog or boltmounted upon the lever in position to be under control of the operatorand adapted to engage directly with a fixed rack in suitable proximityto such lever, as well under stood in the art. In this device the nicetyof adjustment is limited to a degree which makes such mechanism notwholly suited for use upon automobiles driven by steam-engines, becauseit does not give the desired fineness of regulation, the number ofadjusted positions being practically limited by the length of the rackand the number of notches which can be located therein in the arc ofadjustment of the lever itself.

My invention relates to certain details of construction in a lockingdevice organized to give a finer regulation and a multiplied movement byattaching to the lever a suitable pinion or gear-wheel which is itselfconnected with the notched locking plate or disk and gears with a fixedsegment or rack, said pinion and said locking-plate being of suchproportion or relation or so connected by intermediate devices that themovement given to the notched edge of the locking-plate will be greaterthan the movement of translation of the parts mounted upon the lever inmoving through any given are of adjustment.

Another part of my invention relates to the means whereby the lockingbolt or dog may be held out of locking position temporarily or may beleft in position to lock the lever, and to this end the inventionconsists in providing upon the actuating-lever a suitable thimble orsleeve having interior concealed parts which are operatively connectedwith the bolt and are of such nature that by rotating the thimble orsleeve the position of the bolt with relation to the notched edge of thelocking-plate may be controlled. Preferably, also, and in order toprevent meddling or interference by the curious the said locking thimbleor sleeve is made as a section of the handle for the control-lever andpractically formsa continuation thereof, so that when the line of unionis nicely fitted it will not be recognized as a separate partindependent of the handle itself.

My invention consists also in the details of construction and theimproved combinations of parts, as hereinafter more particularlydescribed and then specified in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a deviceembodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a vertical central section through thesame, taken at right angles to the plane in which the operating-leverswings. Fig. 3 is a vertical central section of the handle and interiorparts, taken on the line at right angles to the section shown in Fig. 2.Fig. 4 is a plan of the device, the handle proper being removed to showthe parts within the thimble or sleeve which controls the position ofthe bolt or dog. Fig. 5 shows the thimble in vertical section detached.

1 indicates the controlling-lever by whose adjustment the power of anymotor is controlled, and 2 the handle of said lever, preferably madecylindrical in outline and prop erly roughened to form a good grip.

The handle 2 is preferably made hollow, as shown in sectional view, andis connected by a screwcoupling, as shown, with the lever 1 itself. Inthe upper end of the lever and working longitudinally thereof insuitable guideways is the locking bolt or dog 4, whose upper end extendsinto the hollow handle and is there acted upon by a suitable spring 5,located between the end of the handle and a shoulder or pin upon the dogor bolt, as shown. This spring acts to normally seat the end of the (login the notches in the locking-plate 9. The locking-plate is preferablymade so as to be capable of rotation in suitable bearings on the lever 1itself and has, preferably, its whole edge notched, although if made ofsufficient size it might have only a portion of its edge notched.

For the purpose of giving a multiplied movement to the notched edge ofthe locking-plate 9 the said plate is provided with a pinion 10, securedto a spindle or shaft projecting from said plate through the lever 1 andgearing with a fixed rack suitably mounted. By preference this rack isformed upon the guide 3 for the lever 1 and upon the under side of saidguide, so as to be out of the way. When the lever is swung, there willbe, as obvious, a multiplied movement given to the periphery of thenotched plate 9, thus affording a larger number of locking-points in theswing of the lever through a given arc than cou d be afiiorded by anyfixed notched plate-such as, for instance, a notched guide 3 directlyengaged by the dog, as has been the previous practice.

Operatively connected with the bolt for the purpose of raising it orkeeping it raised out of the notches in plate 9 is a thimble or sleeve6, mounted to turn upon the lever 1 and in such position as to bereadily operated by the thumb or finger of the hand grasping the handle2. The sleeve 6 forms, as shown, practically a section of the handle 2,and the joint between said section and the handle proper is a flushjoint, so that the part 6 will not be distinguishable as a separate ordistinct part from the handle proper, and will therefore afford a meansfor concealed locking of the lever when said thimble is turned to theproper extent to permit the spring 5 to seat the dog or bolt in a notchof the disk or plate 9.

The sleeve is operatively connected upon its interior with the bolt byany suitable means-as, for instance, by means of a camway formed in acountersunk portion of said thimble and a pin 7 projecting from the boltand resting on said camway. The straight portion of the cam where thepin will be at rest and the bolt raised to free the lever is in dicatedat 8, Fig. 3. By rotating the thimble the pin is permitted to ride downthe incline to position where the bolt will be engaged with a notch inthe plate 9 and the lever securely locked. A reverse movement of thethimble will raise the dog or bolt and permit the lever to be adjustedto a new position. When the lever is to be left locked, the thimble isturned to position to permit the spring to seat the dog in a notch ofthe plate. For the purpose of giving afree throttle control the spindlemay be turned and left in position where the pin will rest at the point8, inwhich case the lever maybe manipulated in the same manner as thosepower-control- V ling levers which have no attached locking devices.

It will be ovious that my invention may be carried out in other forms ofdevices adapted to secure a multiplied movement of the locking-plate, ashereinbefore set forth, and that other means may be employed for ivingthe manipulated movement. It will also be obvious that in other detailsmy invention is ca- 6 5 pable of modification without departing from theessential features hereinafter claimed.

My invention is especially useful for the power controlling levers ofsteam vehicles, which as ordinarily constructed require a fineregulation of the throttle, but is not limited to such use, as it may beemployed in connection with the power-controlling lever of any motor andwith any power-controlling device in place of the throttle.

By providing a bolt-operating thimble or similar device with operativeconnecting means adapted to retain either of the positions suitable forlooking or unlocking the lever it will be obvious that the said levermay be used in the ordinary manner with free control without requiringthe operator to hold the adjusting device of the bolt in any particularposition, as is necessary with devices of this nature in which asupplemental lever is mounted upon the main controlling-lever and isconnected with a bolt in a manner to hold the same out of position forlocking the lever so long as said supplemental lever is held by the handin a certain position against the power of a spring.

What I claim as my invention is 1. The combination with apower-controlling lever and its actuating-handle, of a looking dog orbolt mounted thereon, and an actuating thimble or collar forming asection of the actuating-handle, and means concealed within the handlefor operatively connecting the thimble with the bolt or dog.

2. The combination with a power-controlling lever, of a hollowactuating-handle secured thereto, a locking-plate, a locking-dogconcealed in the handle, and a rotary thimble or collar mounted on saidlever and connected with the dog for causing the same toengage anddisengage the plate.

3. The combination with a power-controlling lever, of a locking-dogmounted thereon, a locking-plate engaged by and a rotary thimble orcollar mounted on the lever and having a cam for holding the dog out oflocking position or permitting it to hold the lever locked, at will.

4. The combination with a power-controlling lever, of a locking-boltworking in a longitudinal guide in said lever, an actuating thimble orcollar mounted on the lever and connecting with the bolt, a rotatablelockingplate mounted on the lever, a pinion secured to said plate and afixed rack as and for the purpose described.

5. The combination with a power-controlling lever, of a locking-bolt, ahollow handle concealing said bolt, an actuating-thimble forming a partof said handle, a locking-plate mounted on the lever, a fixed rack, anintermediate means between the rack and the locking-plate for rotatingthe same.

6. The combination with a power-controland State of Ohio, this 24th dayof May,A. D. ling lever, of a lockinghlbolt1 or dog carried 1902.thereby, an operating t 'nib e or s eeve provided with a cam operativelyconnected with GEORGE WILLIAM LORIMER' 5 said bolt or dog and alocking-plate adapted Witnesses:

to be engaged by said bolt or dog. 0. B. J AMISON,

Signed at Pique, in the county of Miami JAS. WARD KEYS.

